1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine, a storage medium for storing an operation program of an image forming control apparatus which controls the image forming apparatus, a packaging member for cut sheets used for the image forming apparatus, and a cut sheet packaging body having a plurality of cut sheets and a packaging member to wrap these cut sheets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in printing cut sheets, a user first takes out the cut sheets wrapped by a packaging paper and sets these cut sheets in a feeder portion of a printer after leveling the cut sheets once. Subsequently, cut sheet information such as a kind of cut sheets and the like on cut sheets used for printing are inputted to a printer host so as to make the printer perform the printing.
However, in such a prior art, the user has to input such cut sheet information by himself or herself, so that there arises a problem that the operation becomes extremely cumbersome. Further, if the cut sheet information such as the kind of sheets is erroneously inputted, there arises other problems including a problem that the printing quality becomes deteriorated.
Further, the prior art also suffers from a problem that the setting of the cut sheets or the like at the time of exchanging the cut sheets becomes cumbersome.
Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a storage medium which stores an operation program of an image forming control apparatus so as to allow a user to omit the inputting operation of cut sheet information by himself or herself.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a cut sheet packaging member which can faciliate setting of cut sheets or the like at the time of exchanging cut sheets used for an image forming apparatus.
The first cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is a cut sheet packaging member which accommodates a stack of cut sheets used for image forming in an image forming apparatus, wherein
a separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member into a lid part and a body part is formed and cut sheet information readable by a sensor is affixed to the body part at a position close to the separation line.
The second cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is a cut sheet packaging member which accommodates a stack of cut sheets used for forming images in an image forming apparatus, wherein
a separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member into a lid part and a body part is formed, a portion to be latched which is engaged with a portion of a sheet feeding part of the image forming apparatus so as to prevent the body part from being fed to the image forming apparatus together with the cut sheets is formed on the body part, and cut sheet information readable by a sensor is affixed to the body part.
The third cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is a cut sheet packaging member which accommodates a plurality of rectangular cut sheets used for forming images in an image forming apparatus in a stacked state, wherein
a first separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member is formed such that a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to one longitudinal end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a body part and a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to the other longitudinal end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a lid part, and second separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member is formed such that a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to one lateral end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a body part and a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to the other lateral end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a lid part, and cut sheet informations readable by a sensor are respectively affixed to the body part when divided by the first separation line and the body part when divided by the second separation line.
The fourth cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is a cut sheet packaging member which accommodates a stack of rectangular cut sheets used for forming images in an image forming apparatus, wherein
a first separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member is formed such that a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to one longitudinal end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a body part and a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to the other longitudinal end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a lid part, and a second separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member is formed such that a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to one lateral end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a body part and a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to the other lateral end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a lid part, portions to be latched which are engaged with a portion of the image forming apparatus are respectively formed on a portion of the body part when divided by the first separation line and on a portion of the body part when divided by the second separation line such that the body part is not fed to the image forming apparatus together with the cut sheets, and cut sheet informations readable by a sensor are respectively affixed to the body part when divided by the first separation line and the body part when divided by the second separation line.
In any one of the above-mentioned first to fourth cut sheet packaging members, the fifth cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that when the lid part is removed and a side which has been covered with the lid part is directed toward the image forming apparatus and a plurality of cut sheets which are covered by the body part are disposed in the image forming apparatus, among a fixed guide and a movable guide which guide the widthwise position of the cut sheets in the image forming apparatus, the cut sheet information is affixed to the body part disposed at a position which constitutes the fixed guide side.
In the fifth cut sheet packaging member, the sixth cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that among a plurality of faces which constitute the body part, the cut sheet information is affixed to one surface which faces one-side faces of a plurality of packaged cut sheets in an opposed manner, and when the lid part is removed and a side which has been covered with the lid part is directed toward the image forming apparatus and a plurality of cut sheets which are covered by the body part are disposed in the image forming apparatus, a face of the body part which faces the fixed guide in an opposed manner is removably formed.
In any one of the above-mentioned first to fourth cut sheet packaging members, the seventh cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that within the face which faces the cut sheets in an opposed manner, the cut sheet information is affixed to the center position of the body part in a direction perpendicular to the cut sheet insertion direction directed from the body part to the lid part.
In any one of the above-mentioned first to seventh cut sheet packaging members, the eighth cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet informations are affixed in parallel to the cut sheet insertion direction directed from the body part to the lid part.
In any one of the above-mentioned first to eighth cut sheet packaging members, the ninth cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that an arrow showing the cut sheet insertion direction directed from the body part to the lid part is affixed to the body part.
In a cut sheet packaging member which accommodates a plurality of cut sheets on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus, the tenth cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet packaging member includes an information card portion to which cut sheet information readable by the sensor is provided and the information card portion is removably mounted.
In any one of the above-mentioned first to tenth cut sheet packaging members, the eleventh cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet information includes at least one of model number, size, kind of sheet, thickness, number of sheets, unit price and the like of the cut sheets.
In any one of the above-mentioned first to eleventh cut sheet packaging members, the twelfth cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet information is indicated by a bar code.
In any one of the above-mentioned first to twelfth cut sheet packaging members, the thirteenth cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet information is indicated by characters as well as by a bar code.
The first cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned second object is a cut sheet packaging member which accommodates a stack of cut sheets used for forming images in an image forming apparatus, wherein
a separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member into a lid part and a body part is formed and a portion to be latched which is engaged with a portion of a sheet feeding part of the image forming apparatus so as to prevent the body part from being fed to the image forming apparatus together with the cut sheets is formed on the body part.
The second cut sheet packaging member for achieving the above-mentioned second object is a cut sheet packaging member which accommodates a stack of rectangular cut sheets used for forming images in an image forming apparatus, wherein
a first separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member is formed such that a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to one longitudinal end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a body part and a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to the other longitudinal end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a lid part, and a second separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member is formed such that a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to one lateral end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a body part and a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to the other lateral end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a lid part, portions to be latched which are engaged with a portion of the image forming apparatus are respectively formed on a portion of the body part when divided by the first separation line and on a portion of the body part when divided by the second separation line such that the body part is not fed to the image forming apparatus together with the cut sheets.
The first cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the first cut sheet packaging body includes the cut sheet packaging member of any one of the first to twelfth cut sheet packaging members and a plurality of cut sheets accommodated therein.
The second cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is a cut sheet packaging body which includes a plurality of cut sheets used for image forming by an image forming apparatus and a cut sheet packaging member which accommodates a plurality of such cut sheets, wherein
the cut sheet packaging member is provided with a separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member into a lid part and body part and among a plurality of cut sheets stacked in the inside of the cut sheet packaging member, the cut sheet disposed at an end of the stacking direction has with cut sheet information readable by a sensor affixed.
The third cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is a cut sheet packaging body which includes a plurality of rectangular cut sheets on which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus and a cut sheet packaging member which accommodates a plurality of such cut sheets, wherein
a first separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member is formed such that a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to one longitudinal end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a body part and a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to the other longitudinal end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a lid part, and a second separation line for dividing the cut sheet packaging member is formed such that a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to one lateral end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a body part and a portion of the cut sheet packaging member corresponding to the other lateral end side of the rectangular cut sheets accommodated therein constitutes a lid part, and among a plurality of cut sheets stacked in the inside of the cut sheet packaging member, cut sheet information readable by a sensor is affixed to the cut sheet positioned at an end in the stacking direction.
In the second or the third cut sheet packaging body, the fourth cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet information is affixed to a portion which is disposed on the cut sheet positioned at the end of the stacking direction and is exposed when the lid body is separated from the body part.
In any one of the above-mentioned second to fourth cut sheet packaging bodies, the fifth cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that when the lid part is removed and a side which has been covered with the lid part is directed toward the image forming apparatus and a plurality of cut sheets which are covered by the body part are disposed at the sheet feeding portion in the image forming apparatus, among a fixed guide and a movable guide which guide the widthwise position of the cut sheets in the image forming apparatus, the cut sheet information is affixed at a position which constitutes the fixed guide side.
In any one of the above-mentioned second to fifth cut sheet packaging bodies, the sixth cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet information is affixed to the center position of the cut sheet in a direction perpendicular to the cut sheet insertion direction directed from the body part to the lid part.
In any one of the above-mentioned second to sixth cut sheet packaging bodies, the seventh cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet information is, among a plurality of cut sheets stacked in the inside of the cut sheet packaging member, affixed to the cut sheet positioned at both ends of the stacking direction.
In any one of the above-mentioned second to seventh cut sheet packaging bodies, the eighth cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet informations are affixed in parallel to the cut sheet insertion direction directed from the body part to the lid part.
In any one of the above-mentioned second to eighth cut sheet packaging bodies, the ninth cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that an arrow showing the cut sheet insertion direction directed from the body part to the lid part is affixed to the body part.
In any one of the above-mentioned second to ninth cut sheet packaging bodies, the tenth cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet information includes at least one of model number, size, kind of sheet, thickness, number of sheets, unit price and the like.
In any one of the above-mentioned second to tenth cut sheet packaging members, the eleventh cut sheet packaging body for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the cut sheet information is indicated by a bar code.
The first image forming apparatus for achieving the above-mentioned first object is an image forming apparatus for forming an image on each surface of cut sheets, wherein
the image forming apparatus includes reading means which reads cut sheet information affixed to a portion of a cut sheet packaging member for accommodating a plurality of such cut sheets and output means which outputs at least a portion of the cut sheet information read by the reading means.
The second image forming apparatus for achieving the above-mentioned first object is an image forming apparatus for forming an image on each surface of cut sheets which are accommodated in a cut sheet packaging member separable into a lid part and a body part, wherein
the image forming apparatus includes reading means which reads cut sheet information affixed to a portion of the cut sheet packaging member, output means which outputs at least a portion of the cut sheet information read by the reading means, a sheet feeding part in which a plurality of cut sheets are set, and a portion to be latched which, when the lid part is separated from the body part of the cut sheet packaging member and the body part is set in the sheet feed portion together with a plurality of cut sheets, engages the body part with the sheet feeding part to prevent the body part from being fed.
In the image forming apparatus of either the first or second image forming apparatus, the third image forming apparatus for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that a fixed guile and a movable guide which guile the widthwise direction of the cut sheets are provided to a sheet feed opening for the cut sheet and the reading means is provided at the fixed guide side in the inside of the sheet feed opening.
In the image forming apparatus of either the first or second image forming apparatus, the fourth image forming apparatus to achieve the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that a pair of movable guides for guiding the widthwise position of the cut sheets are provided to a sheet feed opening for the cut sheets and a pair of such movable guides are constituted such that when one movable guide approaches the other movable guide, the other movable guide also approaches one movable guide by the same distance and when one movable guide moves away from the other movable guide, the other movable guide also moves away from one movable guide by the same distance, and the reading means is provided in the inside of the sheet feed opening and at a center position between a pair of such movable guides.
In the image forming apparatus of either the first or second image forming apparatus, the fifth image forming apparatus for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the image forming apparatus includes an information card mounting part into which a portion which is removed from the cut sheet packaging member and to which the cut sheet information is affixed can be inserted and the reading means is provided to the information card mounting part.
In the image forming apparatus of any one of the first to fifth image forming apparatuses, the sixth image forming apparatus for achieving the above-mentioned first object is characterized in that the output means includes at least one of display means which displays at least a part of the cut sheet information read by the reading means and transmission means which transmits at least a part of the cut sheet information to an image forming control apparatus which controls the image forming apparatus.
The first storage medium which stores an operating program of an image forming control device for achieving the first object stores a program which is characterized by including a transmission/reception control step which allows a transmission/reception part to receive from an image forming apparatus cut sheet information including at least one of model number, kind of sheet, thickness of sheet and unit price of the cut sheets, and a display control step which allows the display part to display at least a part of the cut sheet information received by the transmission/reception part.
In the first storage medium, the second storage medium for achieving the first object stores a program in which the display control procedure allows the display part to display various kinds of information related with at least one cut sheet information out of the cut sheet informations and allows the display part, when the transmission/reception part receives such one cut sheet information, to preferentially display such one received cut sheet information to such various kinds of information.
According to the above-mentioned invention, in the cut sheet packaging member to which the cut sheet information is affixed, when a portion to which such cut sheet information is affixed is mounted in the image forming apparatus, the cut sheet information is read by the image forming apparatus and hence, the labor and time necessary for a user to input the cut sheet information by himself or herself can be eliminated and the erroneous inputting of the cut sheet information can be also eliminated.
Further, even with respect to a cut sheet to which the cut sheet information is affixed, the cut sheet information is read by the image forming apparatus in the same manner and hence, the labor and time necessary for a user to input the cut sheet information by himself or herself can be eliminated and the erroneous inputting of the cut sheet information can be also eliminated.
Further, according to the present invention, the cut sheets are used in a state that the cut sheets are accommodated in the body part of the cut sheet packaging member, and thus the cut sheets are protected from being adhered with dust. Further, at the time of exchanging the cut sheet, the cut sheets are exchanged together with the body part so that the cut sheets can be easily exchanged.